Dammam: A Malayali man was executed in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, for drug smuggling.
Abutti Velli (41), a native of Mahi Peringadi in Thalassery, Kannur, was executed today.
The Saudi Ministry of Interior confirmed that the sentence had been carried out. Abutti was arrested in 2023 after smuggling a large quantity of lethal narcotics by road from Oman into Saudi Arabia.
He was driving a GMC van transporting 43 kg of narcotics. The trial court had sentenced him to death based on evidence presented by the prosecution; this verdict was subsequently upheld by the appellate court and the Supreme Court, and the sentence was executed following a royal decree.
